The Undertones were hard to beat with the attitude and abandon of this energetic adolescent entertainment. The group formed in Derry, Northern Ireland when the lads were mere teens. They played wherever they could around town until they found an audience at the Casbah Club, where they were also able to get paid. They recorded a demo tape and sent it to various record companies with no luck. They also sent a copy to legendary BBC 1 radio DJ John Peel. Peel offered to pay for a recording session, which led to the 'Teenage Kicks' EP being cut in Derry. Peel created a buzz over the title song and claimed it was the greatest song ever. The attention led to a contract with Sire Records.
Micky Bradley reveals: “The reason I joined the band all those years ago was because I wanted to play music and have a bit of craic with my mates...The first time we ever played live was in a scout hall in Beechwood Avenue in February 1976. Feargal was in the scouts at the time. Then we performed live in St. Peter’s High School, St. Joseph’s Boys’ School and we also played in a few youth clubs around Derry too...It wasn’t until the start of 1977 that we started playing in the Casbah up at the top of Orchard Street - we played there, on and off, every weekend for about a year and a half...It was a great few years because we just spent our time sitting in O’Neill’s house, listening to music and talking about our band...When we signed the deal with Sire it was myself and Feargal who negotiated the deal. It was a complete joke and we ended up signing a really bad deal."
Producer Roger Bechirian let the band cut loose in the studio for the sessions at Eden Studios and Mrs. Simms Shed in Derry with Feargal Sharkey on lead vocals; John O'Neill on rhythm guitar and backing vocals; Damian O'Neill on lead guitar, keyboard, and backing vocals; Michael Bradley on bass guitar, lead vocals, and backing vocals; and Billy Doherty on drums.
John O’Neill reflects: “It was that pop thing, we originally had no intentions of making an L.P. we were just gonna bring out singles like T.Rex or Gary Glitter. I also remember the intention of the first L.P. was to try and make it like MC5’s ‘Back In the USA’, that twin guitar thing...It’s funny but the political thing never even crossed our minds at the time. Music was an escape. I was definitely wrapped up in the whole rock ‘n’ roll thing ... to me Punk Rock was like the ‘50’s all over again, the thing was so attractive that talking about what went on in the North seemed ... for old people...You see, up till then we had no concept of it being a career really, we didn’t have any long term aspirations of making a living out of being in the music business.”
'The Undertones' went to forty-one in New Zealand and thirteen in the UK. The combination of their powerpop punk delivery with Sharkey's distinctive vibrato made them critical darlings. Sharkey considered how success changed everything: "We’ve learned quickly, we’ve had to learn quickly and if I’m honest a lot of the fun has gone out of it, the real fun we had when we first started, now you realise you’re in a different kind of job ... It's basically integrity. That's what people are getting around to. I myself will put people up on pedestals and look up to them. I think that's quite good because everyone has to have some form of escapism. No matter what you do, your life will eventually fall into a certain routine and it's good to get released from that for three and a half minutes."
http://theundertones.com/
"Teenage Kicks" was the band's first single, released initially on the independent Belfast Good Vibrations label before they signed to Sire, who rereleased the song nationwide, taking it to number thirty-one in the UK. It was not included on the first issue of 'The Undertones'; but was added to subsequent issues. DJ John Peel championed the song on his show and called it his favorite of all time. It was played at his funeral. Songwriter John O’Neill says: “I always think that even though I’m credited as the person who wrote ‘Teenage Kicks’ it’s the actual sound of that record that makes it, the actual song’s not particularly great, it’s the actual sound that makes it brilliant.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAtUw6lxcis&feature=kp
A teenage dream's so hard to beat
Every time she walks down the street
Another girl in the neighbourhood
Wish she was mine, she looks so good
I wanna hold her, wanna hold her tight
Get teenage kicks right through the night
I'm gonna call her on the telephone
Have her over cos I'm all alone
I need excitement, oh I need it bad
And it's the best I've ever had
I wanna hold her, wanna hold her tight
Get teenage kicks right through the night
Alright
A teenage dream's so hard to beat
Every time she walks down the street
Another girl in the neighbourhood
Wish she was mine, she looks so good
I wanna hold her, wanna hold her tight
Get teenage kicks right through the night
I'm gonna call her on the telephone
Have her over cos I'm all alone
I need excitement, oh I need it bad
And it's the best I've ever had
I wanna hold her, wanna hold her tight
Get teenage kicks right through the night
Alright
I wanna hold her, wanna hold hertight
Get teenage kicks right through the night
Alright
'Teenage Kicks - The Undertones'
documentary (part 1)
"Jimmy Jimmy" charted at number sixteen in the UK.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKTPjLU5DDA
"Girls Don't Like It" J. J. O'Neill 2:19
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWN2ZLgFqo4&feature=kp
"I Know a Girl" J. J. O'Neill, Michael Bradley, Damian O'Neill 2:35
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmJFGZoE428
"Casbah Rock" J. J. O'Neill 0:47
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Undertones/_/Casbah+Rock
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXCyBoCwV9c
'The Undertones'
full album:
(and then some)
01 - Family Entertainment 00:00
02 - Girls Don't Like It
03 - Male Model
04 - I Gotta Getta
05 - Teenage Kicks
06 - Wrong Way
07 - Jump Boys
08 - Here Comes The Summer
09 - Get Over You
10 - Billy's Third
11 - Jimmy Jimmy
12 - True Confessions
13 - She's A Run Around
14 - I Know A Girl
15 - Listening In
16 - Casbah Rock
17 - Smarter Than You
18 - True Confessions
19 - Emergency Cases
20 - Really Really
21 - She Can Only Say No
22 - Mars Bars
23 - One Way Love
24 - Top Twenty
25 - You've Got My Number (Why Don't You Use It!)
26 - Let's Talk About Girls
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